In the last two decades, there has been considerable interest in developing treatments for carpet fibers, particularly nylon carpet fibers, to enhance repellency and stain resistance. A number of treatments have been developed that provide enhanced repellency and stain resistance to nylon carpet yarns; however, the stain and soil resistant treatments can be removed from the fiber by high pH cleaning solutions, and in certain cases, the protective materials on the fiber can produce discoloration when high pH cleaning solutions (i.e., cleaning solutions having a pH of greater than about 7.5) are applied to the treated yarns. High pH cleaning solutions, such as dilute caustic soda solutions or ammonia-containing solutions, are not normally suggested for use in direct general cleaning of carpets, but these materials may be accidentally spilled onto the carpet when associated areas, such as tile flooring, are cleaned.
There is a continued need in the art to further develop methods of providing stain resistance to fibers, carpet yarns and carpets, and especially, methods of providing stain resistance to fibers, carpet yarns and carpets, which do not react negatively with post-treatment cleaning solutions. Further, there is a need in the art for a method of cleaning fibers, carpet yarns and carpets, wherein the cleaning method uses a high pH cleaning solution to provide superior cleaning, but does not negatively impact the coloration, or the performance parameters of the cleaned fibers, carpet yarns or carpets.